America's Best Hospitals

Congratulations to one of my best friends, Lou Shapiro, CEO at the Hospital for Special Surgery in NYC. His hospital was named once again as the No. 1 hospital for Orthopedics in the US (actually the world).   I realize that there is a lot of controversy over how US News and World Report selects its top hospitals, but I have spent enough time in this field and around some of these top hospitals and their leaders to know that they deserve such a ranking.  On the flip side, however, I did find it interesting that one of the criterion in which these hospitals are judged by the magazine is their competence in high stakes situations.  The example used was heart valve replacement in a man in his 90's.  Most hospitals would decline such surgery due to its risks, but not the Top Hospitals.  Maybe, more of the top hospitals should be declining such surgeries going forward.  Possibly, I will feel differently when I am in my nineties.  I guess it's all about the quality of life that one can experience in their nineties.  Anyway, again, congratulations to Lou Shapiro and also to Ron Peterson, CEO at Johns Hopkins, as the nation's top hospital.